Is speaking in tongues the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit?

Chuck Smith, Charisma vs. Charismania, chapter 9: We must point out that a person who speaks in tongues and lacks agapé love has less valid evidence of the indwelling or the filling of the Spirit in his life than a person who has never spoken in tongues and yet manifests love and other dynamic qualities of God’s Spirit. I cannot deny the validity of the Spirit-filled lives of many of those dynamic leaders and laymen in the church today who have never enjoyed the experience of speaking in tongues, and I prefer their fellowship over many who promote the speaking in tongues as the only true evidence of the Spirit-filled life, but whose personal lives are marred by strife or pride and often even heresy. When Paul wrote to the Galatians he declared, “The fruit of the Spirit is love.” The real proof of God’s Spirit filling a person’s life is love. Love is the most valid evidence that a man is truly filled with the Spirit, and tongues without love are just meaningless sounds. From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.

Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-15.

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Is speaking in tongues the evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit? → wsb.bible/answers/is-speaking-in-tongues-the-evidence-of-being-filled-with-the-holy

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